Humility requires a change of heart

By Carole Bell

Published 1:00 pm, Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Carole Bell

Carole Bell

Humility requires a change of heart

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Last week, I promised that I would write about teaching a child to be humble. Humility is not a characteristic or trait that can be taught like we might teach good manners. Humble behavior comes from a humble heart. A humble heart comes from how we think about God, ourselves and others.

To help children think about God, teach them that he is the creator of the world — and that we are part of that creation. Our teaching should include pointing out to our children the gifts that God gives us. For children, that could include a family that loves them, a home and food, and all the beauty in God’s created world. They should be reminded frequently that everything they have is from God. Tell them that God loves them so much that he sent his son to teach us about love and to die so our sins would be forgiven.

To help children understand about themselves, tell them that no matter how hard they try to be perfect, they still will sometimes do things that make us (the parents) and God sad. “Everyone has sinned. No one measures up to God’s glory.” Romans 3:23 (NIrV). When correcting a child for disobedience, include words such as, “Aren’t you glad that God still loves you even when you mess up? I love you, too.”

Humility is hardest for a child who knows that he is intelligent, charming and good-looking. Make sure he understands that those traits are gifts from God. When your child sees a child who doesn’t measure up in his eyes, point out the less obvious gifts of that child. Also, remind your child that everyone is a child of God and is loved by God.

These three lessons — how we view God, how we view ourselves and how we view others — require that we talk with our children daily about issues that are important to our faith. Mini-lessons that slip into conversation are much more effective than a 30-minute talk about faith. These can be as simple as “I am so happy that you did well on your recital. Let’s thank God that he gave you such a gift.”

Humility helps a person be a good employee. Even better, humility is like a magnet that attracts others. The humble person will always be a good friend and one who points us to God.